Healing
by loveandallthat
Summary: Naruto made a goal: to "heal" everyone in Konoha and further. He's met with success. But who will be there for him if he fails? NaruSaku, not necessarily romantically.


**Gettin' back into writing. It feels good! Short little irrelevant NaruSaku story-type-thing that primarily restates things that have already happened (sorry about that) and then makes some stuff up if I need it to happen! My next story will be a four chapter less happy story. Well… it will probably end happy. That's how I am, right now. **

**Also, I am amused by the feedback for my last story. (Two reviews! That are very short! But nice enough!) And then the fact that my Avatar the Last Airbender story was favorited (that was my most popular one, and I don't like the pairing I wrote about. Go figure.) **

**Anyway, review please!**

**Rated T because… well, I'm not sure, actually. I used the word "ass." **

**I do not own Naruto!**

Once upon a time, Naruto read a book about psychology.

It was a typical psychology book, really. It listed some common disorders, reasoning behind them, and coping strategies. It was all typical. Well. That's a lie. It was all typical, except for the effect it had on one Naruto Uzumaki. He read the whole book, start to finish. And then he came up with a plan, a goal, a dream. No, not to be Hokage. Something that would come before that, and lead up to it. Something to make it achievable. He was going to begin the "healing process" for everyone in Konoha.

Team Gai. A team that, according to many, has a reason to be a little "disturbed in the cranial area." A tall, thin, green sensei of a reason. But Naruto liked to think that he knew better. And that Gai was actually pretty mentally stable. No, really. He was. And he was intelligent… somewhere. No, any of the issues of the members of team Gai were their own.

Tenten. The girl was pretty stable, Naruto had to admit. And he was about to pass her up and deem her process "started" until he realized: therein lied the problem. He was just about to pass her up. Just like everyone else always did, as she was partnered with the genius and the taijutsu master. So, after much consideration, he decided to challenge her to a friendly spar. In the most public training ground that he could find. And he had enlisted Lee's help in getting an audience. The word had spread greatly, and even many of the adults in the village came to watch. Now Naruto wasn't about to sacrifice victory just to start helping Tenten, but he drew out the match as long as he could so she would show as many of her tricks as he could stand. And he had a pretty tough time beating her, once he got her trying. It was at that point that Tenten began to come out of her shell.

Neji. The confused genius with interesting views on destiny. Meaning, he thought that it ran everyone's lives. When Naruto realized this (by having it more or less screamed in his face) he acted immediately and impulsively. He thought long and hard about everything that Neji had said, and about his justification of nearly killing Hinata in his last match of the Chuunin Exams. And how his ideals seemed rooted in his clan's traditions. Naruto intended to stop all of that. But it was a long way away. So now he did the first thing that came into his cocky head. He shoved Neji's "I will beat you because it is my destiny" words right up his ass as he defeated him, and even out-strategized him. And Neji had thought about it, long and hard. And he realized that maybe you could go head to head against "destiny" and win. The fight with Naruto also led to an interesting discussion with his uncle. And Neji found himself with a huge amount of faith in Naruto. It was at that point that Neji started to believe in the power of forces besides destiny.

Lee. He was a genius of hard work. With no ninjutsu, he still managed to be an accredited and talented ninja. And Naruto admired him, and looked up to him for his dedication. And to Naruto, it seemed that Lee had just become stronger and more determined on his own, but Naruto would be wrong. Because Lee had been paying attention to Naruto, watching Naruto, and even sometimes going as far as to think "what would Naruto do?" as he went through his life. Because Lee was impressed with his dedication, and his abilities. And he was extremely drawn in by Naruto's devotion to Sasuke. The strength of bonds like that intrigued him, and so he tried hard, too. And after Neji was defeated, the previously undefeated genius, Lee realized that anything was possible. It was at that point that Lee started to trust in his skills.

And then there were the shinobi of the sand. Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. With a crazy family history and confusion between which side they were on, there was a lot that could mess with their heads. But really, only one really was affected. And Naruto could empathize.

Gaara. He had been born a weapon. He had a demon inside, like Naruto. And he was hated when he was younger. Like Naruto. But there was nobody, not even his own siblings, who acknowledged him in a positive way. Unlike Naruto. Naruto had fought for the attention of his village, and he had earned it. And then, after Gaara had been used to easy victories, and only recently been even touched during a fight, Naruto had defeated him. And he had told him where he got his strength. And Gaara realized. He could have that strength, if he worked equally as hard. And he worked hard, and got his entire village to accept him as Kazekage. It was at that point that Gaara had bonds.

Kankuro and Temari were never horribly troubled souls. However, they were haunted by a brother whose birth had killed their mother. But they got over that, and knew it wasn't his fault. And then, they just had a brother who loved blood, and cared about nothing else. But Naruto had given him a new purpose in life, and they could not have been more grateful. It was at that point that Kankuro and Temari got their brother back.

And Team 8, the best tracking team there was. Sure, none of them had any sort of amazing powers. But they were all really good people, really dedicated shinobi, and they deserved every bit of good that could come to them.

Kiba. He really was just an ordinary kid, with a slightly high opinion of himself. He was proud and presumptuous. He thought that he couldn't be beaten, especially by Konoha's number one prankster. But, of course, he couldn't foresee his new nicknake: Konoha's number one most unpredictable ninja. So he wasn't anticipating it at all when Naruto beat him. And he was knocked off his high horse, most unceremoniously. It was at that point that Kiba started to learn not to underestimate.

Shino. Sure, Naruto forgot who he was when he came back from his training. But come on, his face was covered! And Shino was always in the background. But that didn't mean he didn't watch, or he didn't know. He saw the sheer power of everything Naruto believed in as it knocked others down from their assumptions and into the real world. A world where, during the Chuunin Exams, he saw his teammate being beaten down, and Naruto, who barely knew her, standing up for her. And then he came back from training and asked "who are you?" and Shino rethought a few things. It was at that point that Shino realized that maybe he should start to put himself out there.

Hinata. Always shy and hiding. She was always watching Naruto and it always inspired her to push further. She was never one to try for herself. And so during the Chuunin Exams when she was told that she should just forfeit, she wanted to do just that. But she didn't. Because Naruto was there, and he wanted her to go for it, and he was rooting for her. So she fought. And she tried hard, and she landed blows. And she was brutally defeated. But as they carried her away on a stretcher, she could hear him stand up for her. And the fact that he was impressed, that he really was proud of her, was almost more than she could handle. It was at that point that Hinata found her reason to try.

Team 10. Some of the closest people to Naruto and Sakura were Shikamaru and Ino, respectively. And Chouji was always willing to help any one of his friends, Naruto included. This was a team that was pretty closely associated with Team 7 (although, really, it's hard not to be).

Ino. Sakura's rival/friend. Naruto never had a strong direct influence on her, rather he was the reason that Sakura began to orient her life around becoming stronger, and less of a burden. And Ino was not about to be outshined. Or at least, that was how she portrayed her feelings. But really, she had similar feelings to Sakura, and she wanted to be able to be useful to her team too. But of course, she would never let anybody know that. It was at that point that Ino started to respect her best friend.

Chouji. Again, Naruto did not have a direct affect on him. But when Naruto helps someone, it tends to ripple. And he had helped Chouji's best friend. Because Chouji would follow Shikamaru (or probably Naruto) to the end of the world. And Chouji had offered to help Naruto when his mission was lacking people, because he had seen what Naruto had done, and who he had become and he wanted a part of that. It was at that point that Chouji found a cause.

Shikamaru. Someone who always seems to be by Naruto's side. He used to be horribly, horribly lazy, but his actions have picked up since Naruto pushed him into the fight at the Chuunin Exams. And then of course, had jumped down to yell at him for giving up, and they walked back up and ran into Gaara. Really, Shikamaru's the healthiest friendship that Naruto has. And after spending time around Naruto, Shikamaru has figured out something that he really cares about: his friends, and even anything his friends care about. It was at that point that Shikamaru vowed to do anything to protect his friends (even give up his laziness).

And the very messed up, separated, new members and old members of what once was Team 7/Team Kakashi. Led occasionally by the strong leadership of Captain Yamato.

Sai. He was never a member of the original Team 7, and he didn't even start of anywhere near Naruto's good side. He had been taught that emotions were weaknesses, and that he needed to rid himself of them. But he started to slowly realize that Naruto was strong because of his emotions and his bonds. And Sai started to remember a bond that he had once had, and realized that maybe it was not so bad to show your feelings, or at least to have them. And it was also very kind to the memory of his brother not to forget how close they had been. It was at that point that Sai felt like he was allowed to be his own person.

Kakashi. While he, as Naruto's sensei, should have been more help to Naruto (and he was) he often believes that what Naruto did for him was far greater. When he was younger, he had formed his beliefs around what everyone had said, that his father was a disgrace. It had taken Obito to change his mind on that. And then he had died. So Kakashi became reserved and hidden away from everyone. But when he was assigned a team, they had a profound impact on him. He had connected to Sasuke immediately, because in the past Kakashi was a lot like him. But later on he had a stronger connection with Naruto, because he was a lot like Obito. And all the hope he had when he heard Obito talk about what was important as a ninja manifested itself as hope for Naruto as a ninja. And then Naruto had brought around the events that gave him back his life. He could see himself trusting Naruto more than he had ever trusted someone else. It was at that point that Kakashi regained his optimism.

Sasuke. Naruto hasn't managed to save this one yet. But that's not to say that he didn't have any effect on him. He gave Sasuke a friend, something he had never expected to have. And he was his best friend. He had also challenged Sasuke, brought out the strongest in him, even though sometimes by coming near to hurting him. He even had a pretty strong impact on Sasuke's brother, the most important thing in Sasuke's world. But Sasuke's still broken.

Naruto has spent over four years thinking solely about other people. But one day, all of his own weaknesses that he had pushed to second place in favor of the weaknesses of his comrades, crashed back to him in a tidal wave. When Kakashi is late for a mission the three of them are assigned to, he walks up to her, saying nothing, and envelops her in a bear hug. He's glad she doesn't push him away, and elated when she wraps her arms around him, too. And he's finally somewhere where he can let it all out, with someone who will listen, talk, or cry with him, if need be.

Once upon a time, Naruto read a book about psychology.

**Finished! Yay? Someday I hope to write an actual oneshot of Naruto with each one of the characters he's helped (but that would be a lot of oneshots!) but I guess this is just a start. And an odd way to do NaruSaku. I'm learning now that writing more here helps me write better for school too. I guess it's like when I figured out that I do better on tests when I study for them.**

**So review if your hair's on fire, you liked it, you didn't, you have recently bought a decorative vase, or if you like rainbows. **


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